My Intro To The Oakland – East Bay DSA (Democratic Socialists of America)

Anyone is welcome to join or attend a DSA event – look for DSA signs at the Women’s March in Oakland tomorrow and come say hi!

A few weeks ago, I found myself wandering around Grand Avenue, looking for a panel discussion on single-payer healthcare with the East Bay Democratic Socialists of America. The area around the Cathedral of Light is always pretty quiet at night, so I didn’t see any signs of life that would point the way….until I saw this sign:

“The worker must have bread but she must have roses too.” – Rose Schneiderman.

I knew I was in the right place. I found the door, the sign-in table, and the warm, bright room with 100+ people and a panel discussion on the future of healthcare.

Like so many of my peers, I’ve spent the last decade struggling with student and medical debt. I’m fortunate that bread has never been an issue for me, but roses, and the idea of thriving, is seen more and more as a luxury for my generation. What would you do if you weren’t weighed down by debt and financial insecurity? So many people I know just want to enhance their education, or start a business, or visit another country. How can we change our reality if we’re kept uneducated, inexperienced and sheltered from the rest of the world? Not to mention suffering from anxiety and depression because we’re still told that our worth is tied to our financial stability?

These are the questions my friends at the DSA are asking, and the fact that the East Bay chapter is one of the fastest growing in the country gives me up. I think Oakland knows what’s up. It isn’t hard to see that our country has the resources to responsibility for the health and education of its people.

DSA events happen every week or so, whether they’re happy hours, neighborhood canvasses for single-payer healthcare, watch parties, workshops or panels. I enjoy having unusually meaningful conversations with strangers at every event. You don’t have to exchange small talk before diving into politics, housing, healthcare and labor. The people I meet are issue-driven and care deeply about Oakland. At the last happy hour I learned about the brake light initiative, which was started in New Orleans and offers free brake light repair to get rid of just one of the excuses police use to pull over and harass people of color. It’s not just that these chapters are full of people committed to intersectional solidarity work, but they operate independently enough that they have the agility to take on a variety of meaningful projects that benefit their communities the most. It’s an exciting movement to be a part of.

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About The Oakland – East Bay DSA

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